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38. Not Just a Weight on My Shoulders
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-02-27 02:00:09I was sitting up in the hospital bed, a lap-table in front of me, as I did my homework. Krista brought it by every day after school since I was still stuck here. When she came with her mom on Friday after the doctor called her, I was forced to listen to a five minute lecture. It ranged from how much of an idiot I was, to how reckless I was, and back to how much of an idiot I was. Her mom finally stopped her after she started to hyperventilate as she fumed.
For the most part, everything was healed. Bones were put back in place and any internal bleeding stopped. On Monday, Gamma Maddox came by to apologize. Though, we ended up talking more about the fight than anything. I knew he was just doing as Alpha requested. I didn’t hold it against him and if anything, it was a good lesson. It hammered home that I still had a long way to go.
Dad never came by but I wasn’t surprised about that. What was surprising was that Alpha Damian or even Luna Ember never came by. I thought th
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Winter 39. The Right Thing?
Dee picked me up from the hospital at seven in the morning. He was right on time just as I had gathered my bag and was at the nurses counter signing out. Taking my bag from me, we walked out to the car which was an old beat-up silver Toyota SUV. I gave him a raised eyebrow.“It’s Dad’s. Mine is in the shop and Dad can’t get rid of this thing.” He shivered. “He says both Krista and I were conceived in the back seat of this car and he refuses to get rid of it.”I wrinkled my nose. “That’s gross.”“It really is. Come on. I’ll take you home.” He put his hand up as I opened my mouth. “Before you say anything, I have explicit instructions to take you home and not to school.”Snorting, I shook my head. “Your family is the worst sometimes.”He shrugged and opened the door for me. Once we took off, Dee rolled down the windows and turned up the music. I pulled my hair back so that it wasn’t flying around in the wind. However, the multiple days without my usu
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-27Winter 40. Understanding
I was startled awake by my door opening. It didn’t slam but I knew better than to be asleep for movement in my room. Dad stood in the doorway and I sat up, blinking away the dream about collecting mushrooms in a forest I didn’t recognize. He didn’t look mad or upset, which was unusual.What he did look was tired. I hadn’t seen him for almost a week but it looked like he aged a few years. He stepped into my room but not very far. Leaning against desk that I had against the wall, Dad crossed his arms over his chest.“You want to tell me what happened?”My brow furrowed. “Didn’t you get told what happened?”“I want you to tell me, Winter. I don’t want three different stories telling me roughly the same thing.”I swallowed and looked down at the book that had fallen when I fell asleep. “From when…”“How did you get beaten so bad that you landed in the hospital?”“I…um…I fought Gamma Maddox.”He nodded. “Why?”“Becau
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28Winter 41. Will You Marry Me?
Slamming my locker shut, I raised my eyebrow at Krista who had been leaning against the locker next to me. She had been staring at me for a few minutes while I swapped what was in my backpack. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned in. I was tempted to knock my forehead into hers but held off.“You seem…different.”“Different? You mean healed?” I chortled.Krista shook her head. “No. Dumbass. Just different. Like…you’re holding yourself different.”Shrugging, I glared down the hallway at Rebecca. She was walking down the hallway but she looked different. Her makeup was heavier than normal. Not that she was going for a dark smokey eye but she was definitely covering up some dark circles.She was ignoring everything around her as she walked down the hallway, which was incredible to witness. Her eyes caught mine and she sneered but passed me without even an insult. Blinking, I watched her leave before I turned back to Krista.“I mean…trainin
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-28Winter 42. Caught Red Handed
We continued to joke around until we made it into the city. It was far more crowded than any place in pack but it was a nice change. Sometimes, it was nice to get lost in a sea of humans. Krista continued to drive through the main downtown before reaching the mall that we preferred. It wasn’t the high end one in town but it was the biggest one.There was a restaurant across the street from the mall that we decided to stop and have brunch. I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese hash brown bowl whereas Krista got a whole breakfast platter. We ate talking about the plans we had for All Hallows Eve. There was going to be a whole pack festival but that usually ended before the parties started.Killing about an hour, we made our way into the mall. It was more lively at eleven than it seemed like had been was right when they opened. We made a circuit around the place, walking off our food, before we dove into shopping. I had a bank account in my name that received a deposit
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-01Winter 43. A New Lover Enters
Embarrassment flooded through me. This was not the conversation I wanted to have with the person we were talking about. Krista didn’t seem to mind at all. She nodded, like it was fine we were talking about mates with our Gamma.“Do you know why she is feeling the way she is?”Gamma Maddox shook his head. “It could be a leadership thing. It could be her mate. Who knows. We won’t know until it stops.”“But you’re not…” I started, my face still red as a tomato.“No, Winter. I’m not.”He narrowed his eyes for a moment before I saw his demeanor change. Krista saw it too. She sat up straighter, pulling her leg in closer. I also perked up a little more. Gamma Maddox was our leadership. Usually, he was silly and goofy. The look on his face right now was serious. Serious Gamma was a rare occurrence and one that you listened to no matter what.“I had a mate. Back when
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-01Winter 44. Hope
“You okay?”Gamma Maddox stood next to me while we waited for Krista to try on clothes. After the bomb that was dropped, we all sat in silence for a while until Krista decided that she needed more clothes. So, we followed her whim. He was now holding three bags of his own purchases, I had another bag from the doom, gloom, and sex store as Krista differentiated.“I mean, I thought Caleb dumped a lot on me last night. I knew some of it, but there were just small pieces that now fit. Then…you…” I sighed. “I feel like sometimes I’m being pulled every which way. My mother’s family was leadership. Her friends were leadership. Her boyfriend apparently was leadership. Caleb was leadership. His family leadership. It makes sense that I would also be tangled up in the leadership but this is just…a lot…”He shrugged, his usual self shinning through a little more as we shopped. “You were always
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-02Winter 45. Disappointment
“What were you thinking? Did you think that any part of that decision was smart?”Krista and I were standing in Alpha Damian’s office. Krista’s mom was the one who was standing in front of us. Both our heads were bowed against her anger. Gamma Maddox was nowhere to be seen after he made sure we got to the pack house.“You left school. Not telling anyone where you went. We get a message that you went off territory. We call you. You don’t answer. Then you text your dad that you’re going shopping? That’s it. No information about where you are going. Not how long you would be. Nothing.”Mrs. St James threw up her hands and paced, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I am dealing with people breaking into my home and you two decide to leave without any protection. Without anyone knowing where you were. What did you think would happen? What if those people was waiting
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-02Winter 46. Rejection
*** Caspian’s POV ***“I’m going to lock up, anything you need?”I looked up from the table I had been leaning over for the past few hours. “No, thank you though. I’m good. I’ll probably put in another couple of hours and head home for the weekend.”Carrie smiled and nodded. “Don’t stay too late. You’re too young to become a fossil in here.”“Yes, ma’am.”She gave me a quick wave before closing the large double doors. It was well past closing at the museum but I decided to help with the backlog of work. Really, it was something I could do that would take up my entire thought. Something for my hands to do. Sitting here doing work was better than sitting in my flat alone.I’d been working on this particularly lengthy scroll since Wednesday. It was rare for me to be working on one for thi
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-03
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Winter Epilogue 2
‘Your mate thinks you’re mad at her.’Ignoring Onan, I stormed into the store. Grabbing a few things here and there, I tossed everything into my cart. Wrinkling my nose, I grabbed pasta and some chicken thighs. I knew Winter’s tomatoes were ripe, so she could use them and make a full pasta dish with this. We also already had spinach so that would be fine.“Alpha!”My eyes shut for a moment before I turned around. “Beta.”“You doing alright? You like a little…” I waited to see if he wouldn’t finish his sentence. “…pissed?”Running my hands through my hair, I smiled a little too wide. “I’m fine, Dee. Is there something you needed?”“No. Just wondering…” He glanced at my cart. “…when you were coming back to training. Luna has been coming three times a week lately and I feel like it might be a bit much. You guys seemed to swap schedules. Everything okay?”“Yeah. Good. You’ll have to ask Winter what’s going on.”Dee pursed his lips. “I tried to get Krista to talk to her. She and Jackson ar
Winter Epilogue 1
*** Caspian’s POV *** I winced as I heard a bottle shatter in the kitchen. Standing up from my lean, I looked out through the glass door. Shaking my head, I slipped the parchment paper in between the pages of the book I was currently translating. Walking around my desk, I opened up the door, the seal breaking as the door opened.It really was amazing how soundproof Winter had made my office. Castiel was standing in the kitchen next to his sister, crying. Shyla was about to cry, her hands holding onto her dress tightly. The whole house now smelled like cherries and a hint of vodka. Winter was kneeled down, quickly wiping up the glass from the floor.My mate looked up at me and I could see a smile playing on her lips. It wasn’t serious and it looked like no one had been hurt. Clearing my throat, the two of the turned and I raised my eyebrow. That’s all it took. Shyla dissolved into tears and Castiel held onto her dress, crying with her.‘He’s crying in solidarity.’ Kamari added and I w
Winter 109. Until Your Last Breath
Caspian chuckled, grabbing another chocolate donut from the box. “I have to meet with Alpha Bitters while you’re gone. What did you want me to say?”“That’s rude, Alpha.” Dee spoke with his mouth out. “Calling the wolf bitter.”“Dee!” Both Caspian and I called him out. “That’s his last name!”I turned back to Caspian, pinching the bridge of my nose and trying to ignore Dee’s sassier attitude since becoming Beta. “I would say, for now, that we have a potential mating option for his youngest. If that would be something he is open to. Rebecca doesn’t turn eighteen until next month. She’s also already set for remedial classes after school is done. So, it’s going to be a few months. I don’t want to set expectations, but I would like the option there.”The room quieted for a moment. Hannah and Caleb were found guilty. Their sentences were being served. However, it wasn’t something that the Council would tell us. Only that, they would not be coming back to pack. Rebecca was actually under Ca
Winter 108. Change
“There would need to conditions.”I nodded.“You need to get your diploma. GED or graduate high school. That comes first.”I nodded again.“I will need to know how long you are leaving for, where you will be, who will be with you, as well as you calling me every night.”I nodded again.“We need to make sure that the pack is transitioned and that we are covered in case something did happen. I don’t want their Luna not being on territory making the pack feel uneasy.”Pressing my lips together, I fought to keep the smile taking over my face as I continued to nod.“One more thing, Winter. Before I agree to any this, you need to agree to this.”“What is it?” My heart pounded in my chest.He stared at me for a minute before a wicked grin filled his face. “You choose our Beta and Gamma.”My mouth dropped open. Onan roared in laughter and Kamari even snickered. Blinking at Caspian, he was smirking as his head cocked to the side. His eyebrow rose as he looked at me.“Agreed?” He held out his h
Winter 107. Peanut Galleries
‘‘Winter…’I hummed and shook my head.‘Winter, you need to wake up. You’re worrying our mate.’‘Five more minutes, Mom.’The voice laughed. ‘Oh, Winter. I am not your mother.’My eyes flung open and I sat up. The head rush made me press my palm to my temple. Blinking, I looked around my room. Outside was completely dark and I didn’t see Caspian. The blankets had been pulled over me and I was tucked in. Groaning, I leaned forward and rubbed my eyes. Did I really pass out after sex? Was that a thing?‘It is. Especially when you do something like breaking a magical seal.’I sucked in my breath. Tears filled my eyes and covered my mouth. Choking out a sob, I squeezed my eyes shut.‘You…you are my wolf.’‘I am, Winter. I am Kamari.’Barking out laughing, I shook my head but I couldn’t stop the tears. Caspian threw open the door and took my head in my hands. He forced me to look at him as he searched my face. Tears continued to fall but I smiled.“She…she’s there.”Caspian’s eyes widened.
Winter 106. Sensations
I felt myself reach out, but it was also being controlled by someone else. Together, we reached our arms out for Caspian. He surged forward, climbing onto the bed and into our arms. Wrapping around him, I pulled him into a kiss.“I love you.”He hummed, but it sounded more like a growl. After I leaned back to breathe, his lips pressed against my skin everywhere. My head crushed the pillow and I nearly screamed as his mouth found my nipple. I wasn’t new to touching my nipples for sexual pleasure, but nothing could prepare me for how it felt when he did. His tongue swirled around before Caspian took the stiff peak between his teeth.Spots fulled my vision and I shook, my chest rapidly rising and falling. Caspian’s head cocked to the side for a moment before he smiled. I was mortified. He’d simply touched my nipple and I’d climaxed.“Winter…did you…?”“Shut up. Please…don’t make this worse…”I squeaked when Caspian kissed down my stomach and nuzzled between my legs. My hands reached down
Winter 105. Aftermath
I walked up behind Caspian. He was staring at the pile that had been left after the fire. We decided to wait until we ordered a dumpster for the remodel to get rid of all of it. It felt weird to just leave the scorched remnants of all the painful memories out the back door. Still, it would be taken care of soon.There were a few people who decided to go out to dinner, but after everything, I took Caspian home. Mrs. St James brought over some food for us. I thanked her while I served us both a plate, Caspian didn’t touch it. I’d taken a shower, only to find him out here.“Cas?”He hummed, turning to me. His put his glasses back on, but not even the thick lenses could hide his pain. Reaching out, I laced my fingers between his. Lifting our hands, Caspian kissed the back of mine.“I’m sorry. I know I should be happy.”Shaking my head, I leaned it against his shoulder. “We won the war, but the cost was high. If you were dancing around, I think I would be more worried.”“I just…don’t under
Winter 104. The Best Laid Plans...
Both of them were breathing heavily as they continued to match each other. The fight was dragging on and I winced when Damian landed his first real hit on Caspian. It was to the side of the head with his fist. Caspian had been expecting a kick, but at the last minute, Damian switched it up and his fist flew at an incredible speed. There were times that I could barely keep up with their movements.Caspian stumbled back, having to set his hand down on the ground for a moment as to not fall back. I felt myself coil up as Damian smirked. He didn’t say anything and there was barely a second taken before he launched into another attack. This didn’t throw Caspian off at all. Instead, when Damian got close enough, Caspian shifted into his wolf.Smiling, I was happy to see the sweet wolf who protected me against Galen a few months ago. I’d never realized it was him until much later. Until one of the times he left a note and raced off in wolf form.He didn’t stay a wolf long though. As Damian o
Winter 103. Fighting To Not Lose
Over the next half hour, more and more of the pack filled the seats. I thought that Damian’s side would be packed to the brim but it was surprisingly more evenly split. I didn’t stand with the Councilors too long, instead, making my way back to everyone. As the arena got louder, I got quieter. Krista shot me smiles when she caught my gaze. Dee came over and put his hand on my head, keeping it there.Everyone hushed again and I thought maybe more of the other Councilors showed up. I was partially right. Councilor Morel and Councilor Dommik stepped in, followed by Damian, Ember, Caleb, Hannah, and Rebecca. We watched as Hannah and Rebecca headed up and took seats in the front row. Neither of them looked good. Dark circles, disheveled hair, and wrinkled clothes; it was my first time seeing either of them like so unkept.Damian, Ember and Caleb stayed down, walking over to the seats that were against the wall at ground level. All of them exuded anger. Councilor Morel and Councilor Dommik
